De Hems Pub

This unwitting dutch palace sits mighty; yet slightly hidden on the edge of soho by the arch entrance to china town. Within it has a large high ceiling ground floor interior and up a smart staircase to the left of all the action is another bar with assorted seating. The downstairs pub tends to get quite crowded with people ending up drinking outside the front in a designated area while upstairs mostly caters for private parties. I come across one barman who opens all the bottles with such force that his performance is almost a show, the bottle opener not denting a single cap and coming clean off with a BANG. The taps serve a good variety of beers including some strong dutch surprises and I come across a 12% beer lurking in the fridge which knocks the socks off most European dark ales, served up in a glass chalice with a gold rim.

Overall the crowds are friendly even if the place is busy and this appears to be the only true beer-house in Soho - well worth the effort to visit, even better if you can found the showman barman - 8/10